


To Bloom In Snow

by Edonohana



Category: Protection Inc - Zoe Chant
Genre: Barefoot in the snow, Bathing/Washing, Bruises, Cabin Fic, Cuddling, Cunnilingus, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hand Jobs, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, Insomnia, Kneeling, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Scars, Threesome - F/M/M, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 11:57:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5784493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Edonohana/pseuds/Edonohana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Shane and Catalina are on a romantic getaway in a cabin in the snowy woods, Justin shows up unexpectedly, in trouble again. They don't mind at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Bloom In Snow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [song_of_staying](https://archiveofourown.org/users/song_of_staying/gifts).



> I wish you comfort and healing, warmth and peace, good food and good company, and all good things.

Shane lay stretched out in front of the fireplace, Catalina nestled in his arms. 

He could see the full moon from the picture window, shining bright in a sky full of blazing white stars. The cabin they’d rented for their vacation was miles from anywhere. He could even pick out the chalk-dust smear of the Milky Way across the sky. You could never see that in Santa Martina— you’d be lucky to see any stars at all. Catalina liked the orange-purple glow of the city at night, but Shane loved the velvety black of a wild sky. Between the moon and the stars, he could see all the way across the white stretch of the snowfield outside their cabin, and to the edge of the thick forest beyond. 

They’d spent the day as big cats chasing each other around the wilderness, climbing trees and tussling on the ground, before the snow had started falling heavily enough that they’d been forced to come in from the cold. All traces of their presence had been erased, leaving only a glittering stretch of smooth white. The mini-blizzard had tailed off into occasional flakes drifting down like feathers, but enough still fell to muffle all sounds from outside. He could hear nothing but the crackling of the flames and his mate’s steady breathing.

Catalina gave a yawn that made her jaw crack, then snuggled closer into his chest. He shifted his weight so she could rest her head on his shoulder. 

“Tired?” he asked.

“Mmm,” she agreed, and yawned again. 

Shane too was pleasantly exhausted. He had no doubt that he’d sleep through the night, and that certainty made him relax even more. While he’d had far fewer nightmares since he’d mated with Catalina, reunited with Justin, and left Apex forever behind, fewer wasn’t none. A peaceful night’s sleep was still something to be treasured.

He supposed they should pick themselves off the floor, get undressed, and go to bed. Or at least get undressed and become big cats if they were going to sleep where they were. Snoozing on hardwood was comfortable as a panther, not so much as a man. If they didn’t shift, they’d be cramped and sore the next day. 

But Shane couldn’t bring himself to move. It was so cozy where they were. 

_Just five more minutes…_

A flash of movement and color caught his eye. There, at the very edge of the treeline. A man’s figure, and a glint of copper. 

Shane leaped to his feet. He didn’t worrying about dumping Catalina to the floor. Her enhanced reflexes wouldn’t let that happen. Sure enough, she sprang up beside him, following his gaze before he even had time to point.

Her brown eyes were bright and alert; she too was instantly wide awake. She shaded her eyes. “Is that…?”

Shane nodded. “Red.” 

They hadn’t seen each other since Justin had said he’d had things to sort out and walked away, and they’d been separated for two years before that. But Shane would know him anywhere, even by that single flash of the brightness of his hair in the shadows of the trees.

“I think he’s in trouble,” Catalina said, her forehead creasing in concern. “Again.”

She was right; Shane could see Justin better now that he’d stepped out of the forest. He was bare-chested and ankle-deep in snow, and stumbling as if he was hypothermic or utterly exhausted. 

_Why doesn’t he shift?_ Shane wondered even as he bolted for the door, Catalina right beside him. _Snow leopards are adapted for exactly this sort of weather. He isn’t even wearing a shirt._

The three of them met a few paces outside of the forest. Justin’s hair had grown out enough for a few wet strands to fall across his forehead. But he was still underweight, his ribs too prominent and the planes of his face too sharp. Between his black eyes, his copper hair, and the hollows of his cheeks, he reminded Shane more of a fox than a leopard.

 _Still your pack,_ hissed Shane’s panther.

 _Of course he is,_ Shane replied silently. _You don’t need to tell me that._

“Oh.” Justin’s voice had the slurred, dreamy tone typical of hypothermia. He addressed Catalina with mild dismay. “I didn’t realize you’d be here too. That was stupid of me. I should go back. I’m ruining your private time.”

Justin wasn’t shivering, which might mean his shifter strength was compensating for the cold, but was more likely to mean that it was about to give out entirely. People shivered to build up heat; when they stopped shivering when they were still cold, it was because their bodies were making a last-ditch effort to conserve energy rather than generate heat. It was a dangerous sign. 

Justin turned to go back into the woods, then braced his palm against the nearest tree as if he needed it for balance. Catalina grabbed his right arm at the exact moment that Shane caught his left, moving in perfect sync.

 _My mate,_ Shane thought. Their partnership still hadn’t lost its wonder for him, and he knew it never would. And now his other partner was back, too. 

Justin’s feet were buried in the snow, but the tracks he’d left showed that he was barefoot. His skin was icy and he moved clumsily, with none of his usual predator’s grace.

Hoping Justin wasn’t too dazed from hypothermia to answer, Shane asked, “Is anyone chasing you?”

“Are you in danger?” Catalina asked, almost at the same time.

“No.” Justin’s gaze and tone were still dreamy, but he sounded certain. “No, neither.”

Shane believed him. Justin might not be thinking completely straight, but he still had the bone-deep instincts of a combat veteran— not to mention the predator’s perception of his snow leopard. If anyone was after him, he’d know it. 

“Then why—” Catalina began. 

Shane held up a hand, cutting her off. He had a pretty good guess why Justin was there, and he didn’t want to spend any more time in the cold. “Come on, Red. Let’s get you warmed up.”

“I’ll just be a few hours,” Justin said apologetically. “I shouldn’t have come here. I wasn’t thinking.”

Catalina glanced at Shane. Her face was as easy to read as ever: _No way are we letting him go back out into the snow._

Shane gave her the briefest of nods: _Of course we’re not but I don’t want to stand around in the cold arguing with him._

“Sure, Red,” Shane said. “But we have to get back inside. Look, we’re barefoot too.”

Justin glanced down. It was true; Shane and Catalina had bolted out as they were, he in jeans and a T-shirt, she in jeans and a light wool blouse. Both had been warming their feet against the fire when Justin had turned up. 

“Oh. Sure.” Justin swayed, unsteady even with their support. 

If Shane had thought Justin would let him, he’d have picked him up and carried him. Instead, he and Catalina steered him through the snow, each holding him by the elbow on either side. 

_As if we’re escorting him to a dance,_ Shane thought. The image was both absurd and oddly fitting. Justin had obviously meant to come on a social visit, of sorts. 

They got him inside and slammed the door. Catalina reached behind herself to bolt it, her shoulder twisting in a way that should have looked grotesque but instead was strangely graceful. Justin turned his head to watch her move, and Shane saw that he also admired her superhuman agility. 

Shane tried to lay Justin down in front of the fire. But to his complete lack of surprise, Justin resisted, hanging on to Shane’s arm. 

_Don’t give in to pain or weakness,_ Shane thought. _Do what you can until you physically_ can’t. 

He was the same way. It was drilled into you at the Pipeline. Of course, if you were the sort of person who gave up easily or at all, you’d never even try out as a PJ. 

“I can sit,” Justin said. “I’m not hurt. I’m just cold.”

Shane doubted that he could sit up by himself. By the time they’d gotten him to the cabin, they’d practically been dragging him. “Okay. Just sit back a little so Catalina can examine you. She needs to check you for hypothermia.”

Justin didn’t object to that, leaning back against Shane’s chest. He was freezing cold. The snow that had collected on his hair and shoulders and the folds of his jeans began to melt, sending runnels of icy water down Shane’s skin. Shane breathed deeply, willing himself not to shiver or twitch or show any sign whatsoever of discomfort. Justin obviously regretted showing up at all, so Shane wasn’t going to do anything that would make him feel even a tiny bit worse.

Catalina bounced up and fetched the basic paramedic kit they’d brought with them and stashed in the bedroom. A more extensive one was in the trunk of the car. Shane couldn’t help being amused at how happy she looked to be getting to do her job. Her delight in her work was one of the most endearing things about her. He hoped Justin would notice that if there was one thing that Catalina never minded getting interrupted for, even on a romantic getaway, it was treating a patient in the middle of the night. 

She checked Justin thoroughly, announcing her findings as she made them. Slow heart rate, slow breathing, poor coordination and reflexes, low temperature. 

“Hypothermia,” Justin said helpfully. 

_No shit,_ Shane thought.

Encouragingly, Catalina said, “You can diagnose yourself—that’s good! I’ll skip the mental status exam— no, wait, let me just ask you one question. How did you lose your shirt and shoes but keep your jeans?”

Justin’s voice was steadier and less slurred as he said, “I can only track people when I’m a man, and the snow was too fresh for me to catch any scents as a snow leopard. I kept shifting back and forth because I was trying to track Shane and not freeze, but I had to carry all my clothes in my mouth. I got colder and colder, and clumsier and clumsier. I ended up dropping everything but my jeans.”

“That makes sense. Mental status is good,” Catalina announced. She went on with her examination. “You’re a little dehydrated. Hmm. I have IV fluids in the car, but I’d have to warm them up.”

“I don’t need that,” Justin said. “I can drink. Just give me some tea or something.”

“Tea,” Catalina said, sounding a little doubtful. “We might have that. Well, I’ll get you something hot. But let me take a look at your feet first.”

She lifted them one by one, examining the soles. All Shane could see from his position was that some blood had oozed up around Justin’s toes. 

“They’re a little frostbitten. Cut up, too. But nothing your shifter healing can’t handle. Let’s take care of the hypothermia first.” Glancing at Shane, she said, “I’ll run you a warm bath and get you some of Shane’s clothes.”

She couldn’t have more clearly conveyed, _“And also, I will get out of the room so Justin can tell you what he’s doing here, since he obviously only meant to find you,”_ if she had a neon sign over her head. An instant later, she’d vanished down the hall and into the bathroom.

Justin turned around, moving against Shane’s chest to look up at him. He’d warmed a little against Shane’s body, but his hair and jeans were still soaking wet and cold. With a frown, he said, “I might pass out if I warm up too fast. I shouldn’t get in a bath. A shower would be better.”

“What, so you can hit your head when you do pass out?” Shane heard himself fall back into his old way of talking to his friend, sarcasm locked and loaded. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it.

With a faint smile, Justin said, “I was thinking I’d sit down.”

Shane shook his head. “Nah. A bath is better. I’ll just stay with you.”

Justin glanced at the hall. The bath was running so loudly that he didn’t need to lower his voice to ensure that he wouldn’t be overheard, but he did anyway. “Won’t Catalina mind?”

“That I make sure you don’t drown?” 

Shane had kept the sarcasm going, but Justin didn’t seem to catch it. “No… I meant…”

If Justin hadn’t looked so sincerely worried, Shane would have kept on teasing him. Instead, he replied seriously. “Catalina knows about us, Red. I told her before she even met you. You don’t keep secrets from your mate. She told me about all the guys she ever had anything going on with, too.”

“But she doesn’t mind?” Justin sounded half relieved, half doubtful. 

“No.” Shane caught and held his friend’s gaze, trying to see past the strangeness of his new dark eyes, willing their old bond to make Justin believe the truth of what he said. “She knows I’m not going to do anything behind her back. And she has a friend who’s like us, her paramedic partner—”

“Quickies in the back of the ambulance, with the siren going and one ear on the radio?” That sounded more like the old Justin. 

“No,” Shane said, though he grinned at the thought. “Totally platonic. Even if they liked girls, I’m pretty sure they’re not each other’s type.” 

The subject of what sort of woman Catalina would hypothetically like to have sex with had never come up, though Shane was sure she’d be happy to tell him if he asked. When he’d told her about him and Justin, she’d casually said that she’d been curious sometimes but she’d never even kissed a girl. But based on the way her eyes sometimes followed passing women, he guessed that if she ever went for a woman, it wouldn’t be one like herself or Ellie, small and curvy. Catalina’s type seemed to be the same for men and women: tall, strong but slim, pale skin, serious and reserved. Like Shane. Like Justin was, now. He’d used to be much more outgoing. 

Shane went on, “I meant that she knows what it’s like to have a partner you trust with your life. And to have more than one person like that. She even told me—”

They were interrupted by Catalina’s arrival. “I ran a bath, and there’s clothes ready. I’ll make tea— well, if there is tea. If there isn’t, I’ll get you a mug of hot water. And some soup.”

“We have soup?” Shane asked. The cabin had been advertised as “contains a full pantry,” but that had turned out to mean the sort of staples you’d actually have to cook, like flour and potatoes and frozen meat. Since neither of them cooked and they hadn’t felt like driving all the way back to the nearest town, they’d had to resort to the MREs that Shane kept in his trunk for emergencies. 

“I saw a couple cans of chicken broth,” Catalina said. “And I’ll watch them like a hawk so they don’t burn.”

“You can’t burn broth,” Justin said. “If you leave it too long, it’ll just reduce and turn into a sauce.”

“You can burn broth,” Catalina assured him. “I’ve done it. But I won’t this time! I swear!”

Justin shot her a look of equal parts disbelief and gratitude. He wasn’t remotely a gourmet chef, but Shane had eaten plenty of dinners that he'd cooked. Sometimes they even had sauces. And not the accidental kind, either. 

“Come on, Red.” Shane hauled him to his feet. “Let’s get you into that bath.”

Justin tensed as his soles touched the floor, and Shane could feel that he was forcing himself not to wince. Frostbite didn’t hurt as long as you stayed cold, but it did once the blood starting circulating again. He didn’t resist Shane’s arm around his shoulders, though Shane could feel that he was trying not to lean too much. When Shane glanced back, he saw that Justin was leaving a trail of bloody footprints on the hardwood floor. 

The corridor was short— the entire cabin was on the small side— but Shane could feel how hard Justin was working to stay more-or-less steady on his feet by the time they reached the bathroom. Shane didn’t comment, but simply provided whatever support Justin needed until he could lower him to the floor, leaning back against the tub. 

Justin’s hands were clumsy as he tried to drag off his jeans. He gritted his teeth, visibly embarrassed at Shane seeing how much trouble he was having with such a simple task.

“When we were escaping from Apex, I had to put on a security guard’s uniform after I’d been shot in the chest,” Shane said. “By the time I got his pants on, I felt like I’d run a fucking marathon.”

That seemed to cheer Justin up a little. “Catalina didn’t help?”

“She could see I’d rather struggle like an idiot and make myself worse than admit that I could use a hand,” Shane replied. “Sound like anyone you know?”

Justin smiled a little at that. “Well, it wouldn’t be the first time you’ve taken off my pants. Go for it.”

Shane helped him get his jeans off. Justin had apparently lost his underwear too, along with his shoes and his shirt— Shane knew he didn’t normally go commando. He couldn’t help taking a quick glance at the body that he knew so well, but no more than that. The important thing was to get him warm. Shane touched the water, making sure it wasn’t too hot, then pulled off his own shirt so he wouldn’t get it wet.

“This could get exciting,” Justin remarked with a grin. 

Shane smiled too. That had sounded so much more like the old Justin. “You can try if you like, but you might want to prioritize not passing out.” 

He helped Justin into the bath. Justin lay back with a deep sigh, all his tension releasing at the touch of the water and its gentle support. He leaned his head back against the crook of Shane’s arm, letting Shane lower him down until only his face was out of the water. His hair was smooth against Shane’s skin, not as silky as Catalina’s, but like hers, it was fine rather than rough. 

“That’s better.” Justin’s voice was soft, relaxed rather than slurred with cold. “Thanks.”

“Any time.” 

Shane had seen him nude plenty of times in non-sexual situations, group showers and getting dressed in the field and so forth. That wasn’t anything unusual. But naked and touching, when they weren’t having sex or planning too… _that_ felt strange. 

_Even though,_ Shane thought with an inner grin, _we mostly hadn’t been naked when we’d had sex._ Half-dressed or with just their pants unzipped, up against a wall with one eye on the door— that was more their style.

Justin’s eyes closed, but his breathing remained even; he was just resting, not unconscious. Shane took the opportunity to look him over more closely. The shadows under his eyes were dark as bruises, his bright lashes a startling contrast. The bullet wound he’d taken before he’d become a shifter had left a scar, a star-shaped indentation sliced diagonally by a surgeon’s incision, just below his heart. Justin still had the wiry musculature that Shane knew so well, but his bones were too close beneath the skin, his color too pale, his weight too light. 

“How long since you’ve slept, Red?” Shane asked.

Justin answered without opening his eyes. “At all, or enough?”

“Both.”

“At all... Two nights. Enough…” Justin sighed. “Not since I left the hospital.”

Shane had figured as much. “How many hours are you getting per night? Approximately.”

Justin tipped his forehead back, as if he was trying to remember. Shane supported his head, feeling the absolute trust implicit in Justin’s movement. If Shane let him drop even slightly, his face would go under.

“Maybe three?” Justin said. “Three or four. Approximately.”

“Nightmares?” Shane asked quietly. 

The delicate skin at Justin’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “I… I think so? I wake up shaking.” He was silent for several seconds before adding, “And scared. But I don’t remember my dreams.”

“I wish I didn’t,” Shane said.

Justin’s eyes opened. He looked much more alert, his dark gaze fixing on Shane as knowingly as if he’s seen Shane’s dreams himself. 

“I’ll trade you,” Justin offered.

Startled, Shane laughed. “Wish we could.”

More seriously, Justin went on, “But it’s not just that I get woken up. I can’t fall asleep, either. Whenever I lie down, my heart starts pounding and I feel like… like…”

“Like there’s an enemy about to break down the door?” Shane suggested. He knew that feeling all too well. There were plenty of nights when he had to sleep with one arm around Catalina and one stretched out across the bed with his hand resting on his gun. Her warm skin made him feel loved, but the cold metal made him feel safe.

Justin shook his head, making the water ripple. “Like I’m strapped down to a lab table.”

“Oh.” Shane didn’t flinch or tense or even alter the rhythm of his breathing. But Justin just kept looking at him with those dark, knowing eyes, and Shane knew that he might as well have clutched at his chest and gasped in horror.

“Yeah,” Justin said, after a pause. “That. Well, I remembered that I’d been fine in the hospital— I mean, not fine, but I was in a fucking hospital bed with needles stuck in me. I should have been panicking every second. But instead, I slept for a week straight. And it wasn’t because I was drugged, because sedatives don’t work on me. I figured it had to be you. I got convinced that if I could just get in the same room with you, I could sleep. So I started tracking you. I wasn’t thinking straight, which’ll happen when you haven’t slept in three months, or I’d have realized you’d be with Catalina.”

“You can still sleep in the same room as me,” Shane pointed out. “She won’t mind. She was with you in the hospital too, you know.”

Justin rolled his eyes at Shane; he was definitely feeling better. “This is your romantic getaway, you idiot. I’m not going to ruin it. I don’t care if _you_ don’t mind— Catalina’s cool, and I owe her one. I’ll sleep on the sofa tonight. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be out of here.”

“You’re not—”

Right on cue, Catalina knocked on the door. Triumphantly, she called out, “I have tea!” Then, more hesitantly, she said, “I could open the door a crack and hand it in. With my back turned.”

Justin sounded amused as he said, “You literally could, couldn’t you? But you can come in if you like. I don’t care if you don’t.”

“You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before,” Catalina said, opening the door. Then her gaze caught on Justin and Shane. Her expression, always so easy to read, went from casual helpfulness to appreciation of Shane’s body to appreciation of Justin’s to appreciation of them both together. Then her idle appreciation, the same she gave to any good-looking, tall, slim, pale man or woman walking down the street, changed to something more… hungry. 

“Or maybe you do.” Her voice came out in a purr. 

Then her face darkened in a blush. She thrust out the mug to Shane, averting her eyes. “Here, take it, I’ll get out of here—”

“No.” Shane and Justin spoke at once, then glanced at each other. Justin had the same half-guilty, half-turned on expression as Catalina. 

Shane hadn’t had any idea that Justin and Catalina felt that way about each other. Probably until that moment, neither had they. But the thought of the two of them together— the three of them together— didn’t make _him_ feel guilty. Instead, it made a sexual heat rise up inside him, along with an odd sense of rightness. Maybe he should feel jealous, or weird, or something. But he didn’t. Catalina was his mate. Justin was his…

 _Packmate,_ his panther suggested. 

_I have no idea what that means,_ Shane replied silently. 

His panther gave him the emotional version of an eye-roll. _It means you should tell her to stay._

 _Twist my arm,_ Shane replied.

Aloud, he said, “No, stay. I need a hand.”

Catalina sank down beside the tub. She leaned over, giving Shane an amazing view of her cleavage and probably giving Justin an even better one. 

Justin sat up, with just a little help from Shane. The water had gotten lukewarm, but it had done its job. Justin was still shaky, obviously, but he’d gotten a lot of his strength and energy back. All the same, Shane kept his arm around Justin’s shoulders. 

But he was conscious of the warmth of Justin’s skin and the sturdy swell of his muscles in a way that had nothing to do with a medical assessment. He was very aware, too, of Catalina’s body as she crouched beside him, of the cinnamon scent of her hair, of her quickened breathing. The energy in the room had changed, from comfort and camaraderie to something more charged with other possibilities. 

“Here.” Catalina offered Justin the mug. It was huge, and undoubtedly heavy. She kept her hands cupped around his as he lifted it to his lips. Shane wondered if it was because Justin’s hands were unsteady, or if Catalina was just being cautious, or if she wanted to see what it felt like to touch him. 

_All of the above,_ Shane guessed. 

Justin took a sip, then glanced at Catalina. “What is this?”

“Tea,” she said.

He smiled, his lips curving over the rim of the mug. “What sort of tea?”

“It was in a tea bag? In a jar,” she added helpfully.

Justin had to visibly force back a grin to take another sip. “Chamomile and… something. Valerian, I think.”

“This is very manly knowledge,” Shane said. 

“My grandmother used to make her own tea from scratch,” Justin said, unruffled. “She’d go down to some store and buy herbs, then blend them. My favorite was rose hips.”

“Even more manly,” Shane teased.

“Shane, shut up and let him drink,” Catalina said, kicking his ankle. “Justin, if you finish this I’ll let you inspect the pantry for rose hips.”

Justin finished the tea, taking his time about it. Shane could smell its herbal scent, like hay and licorice, blending with the spicy smell of Catalina’s hair. Justin too had a scent, now that he’d warmed up, which Shane could detect even in his human body, since he was so close. Clean sweat, mostly. But it brought the memories of all sorts of associated scents to Shane’s mind, even though he wasn’t literally smelling them: desert sand, gunpowder, ocean brine, machine oil, dust, blood. Not all the memories were good, but as a whole, they brought Shane a sense of peace and camaraderie. He and Justin would never be PJs again, but everything they’d experienced together was still with them. They hadn’t lost their history, or their bond. 

“Thanks. I’m good now.” Justin pushed the mug back into Catalina’s hands and stepped out of the bath, naked and dripping wet. 

Shane and Catalina instinctively reached out to steady him, but he stepped back, standing rock-solid on the bathroom floor in a growing pool of water. Unselfconsciously, he picked up a towel and dried himself off, leaving his hair tousled and dark with water, then put on the pair of Shane’s pajamas that Catalina had left for him. They were almost the same size, and the clothes would have fit perfectly if Justin had been at his normal weight. Instead, they were just a little too big. 

“I’ll sleep on the sofa,” Justin said, and headed for the living room. 

Catalina reached for the tub drain, and Shane grabbed a towel to mop the floor. Then they grinned at each other, sharing their amusement at their mutual instinct to grab a flimsy excuse to talk privately.

“He hasn’t slept in days,” Shane said quietly. “Months, really.” 

“I figured,” Catalina said, her voice also lowered. “I don’t think he’s eaten much in months, either. I wish he hadn’t just taken off like that— he could really use some help.”

“I know, but he’s fucking stubborn,” Shane said. “You can’t _make_ him do anything. He’s got a couple reprimands on his record for doing the right thing against orders.”

Catalina smiled. “And you always followed your orders, huh? Even if it was the wrong thing?”

“Fuck, no,” Shane said. “I just made sure I didn’t get caught. Justin doesn’t care about that. He’s not like me.”

“Sneaky,” Catalina suggested.

“Stealthy,” Shane corrected. “It’s more manly. Anyway, if he’s on the sofa, I need to sleep on the living room floor. He’s here because he thought he’d do better if I was in the room. It might make him feel safe if I’m there to guard him.”

“He won’t be on the sofa,” Catalina said. “I put blankets by the fire. I thought you guys might want to sleep a little closer together.”

“You’re always one step ahead of me, aren’t you?” Shane asked. 

She nodded, smiling, then leaned in closer, putting her hands on his shoulders. Her breath was warm against his skin as she spoke into his ear. “Listen, Shane, if you want to do anything with him… I mean, probably he’s not up for it, but if he was and you did… It’s fine with me.” 

On one level, it didn’t surprise him. She had a leopard, and Justin probably felt like pack to her too. But he wanted to make absolutely sure she meant what she said. 

“What about ‘property of Catalina Mendez, all others keep off?’” Shane asked.

Her silky hair brushed his cheek as she shrugged. “Oh, you’re still my property. But I’ll let him on it. He feels different. I don’t know how to describe it. Maybe I should be jealous, but I’m not.”

“I feel the same way,” Shane said. “So if you want to do anything with him, that’s all right too.”

Unexpectedly, Catalina’s clear laugh rang out. “We’re probably getting way ahead of ourselves. He’s exhausted— he’s probably fast asleep.”

 _I doubt it,_ Shane thought. Catalina had come through her time at Apex unscarred, but she’d only been there for a week and they’d never forced her to kill on their behalf. Shane had been there for a year, and it had taken him a year of freedom to recover even as much as he had. Justin had been there twice as long as Shane had, and he’d only escaped a few months ago. He had a long road ahead of him. 

They went into the living room. Catalina had pulled all the blankets and pillows off the bed and piled them in front of the fire. Justin sat cross-legged on them, looking into the flames. He looked haunted and tense, all his relaxation gone. 

Shane sat down beside him. “Lie down. This is what you came here for. I’m not going anywhere.”

Justin drew in a shaky breath. “I don’t think I can. I’m wide awake. I’ll just sit here and keep warm. You two go to bed.”

“Red.” Shane put some command into his voice. “Lie down.”

He put his arms around Justin’s shoulders and pulled. Justin resisted, then gave in and let Shane tug him down. But he lay rigid on the blankets, and stiffened even more when Shane put his arm around him. 

“What are you doing?” Justin asked. “Catalina—”

Catalina settled in on his other side. “You’re pack, Justin. Shane can touch you. And you can touch me. Or not. Up to you.”

Shane felt Justin draw in a shuddering breath, then another. Then he suddenly relaxed, his muscles softening against Shane’s chest. 

“All right.” His voice was barely audible. “I don’t… I’ve done so many bad things I can never take back, the last thing I want to do is screw up your relationship. But if it’s something you want…”

“It is.” Catalina put her arms around him, snuggling in close, her palms pressed against Shane’s back. “But only if you want it too, of course. We don’t have to do anything. We can just lie here and go to sleep.”

Justin was shaking his head again. “I don’t want to sleep. Lie here, yeah. Touch you, yeah. But I— Even with you and Shane here, I don’t—”

 _Strapped to a lab table,_ Shane thought. Justin’s heart was speeding up, his body trembling. 

“Shane told me you and he used to get it on when you got the chance,” Catalina interrupted. “He said it was an off-and-on thing— not a get-together, break-up deal, more like friends with benefits. The friendship was the important part, but the benefits were fun. That sound about right, Justin?”

“Yeah, that was basically it.” Justin's trembling eased as he spoke, and Shane knew that memories of good times were pushing out the ones of whatever sadistic shit Dr. Elihu had pulled on him at Apex. 

_Good call, Catalina,_ Shane thought, and squeezed her hand. She squeezed back, her fingers strong around his. 

Justin went on, “If we never had sex again, we’d still be just as close. But…”

 _But you’d miss it,_ Shane thought. _I did, too._

He’d told the truth when he’d said that sex hadn’t been the crucial part of their relationship. But it had been a good part. 

“But Shane didn’t give me any details,” Catalina went on. “You know how closed-mouthed he is. Tell me a bedtime story, Justin. One time when you and Shane had sex. Pick a good one.”

Justin’s elbow nudged Shane in the ribs. “They were all good.”

“Well, of course,” Catalina said, flicking out her elbow at an impossible angle to bang Shane across the back of the head. “Shane’s very good at sex. I bet you are too. Just pick one. A memorable one. A typical one. I don’t know, the first time. This is my only chance to hear what I bet is going to be a really hot story, so go for it. Give me something to fantasize about on cold, lonely nights when Shane is on some assignment without me.”

Justin laughed outright, his body relaxing against Shane’s. “Okay. I guess I owe you that. I’ll go with the first time. It was memorable _and_ typical.”

Shane took a deep breath, trying to control himself. It was obvious where this would lead under normal circumstances, but Justin was so exhausted and strung out that he might not physically be up for anything. If that was the case, Shane didn’t want to make him feel guilty or pressured or weak. All the same, the heat of desire, both remembered and now, spread through his body. Shane adjusted his position, trying to make it seem like he was just getting more comfortable. Actually, he was moving his hips so his growing hard-on wouldn’t prod Justin’s ass. 

From the amusement in Justin’s voice, Shane wasn’t fooling him any. Justin went on, “So, this was about six months into the Pipeline. We were doing some pretty intense training. You know how sometimes you just know someone’s into you, without them having to say so? I knew Shane was into me. And I was into him. But we had no privacy, and no free time. And this was still during Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. So we were just… waiting.”

“I knew it would happen,” Shane said. “Sooner or later. We didn’t have to talk about it. And we had a lot else on our minds. But every time I looked at him, it was in the back of my mind that sooner or later, we’d be ripping each other’s clothes off.”

“Was it hard to keep your hands off each other?” Catalina asked.

“Yes and no,” Shane said, at the same time that Justin said, “Not exactly.”

They both laughed, and Justin went on, “It _felt_ hard. But we’ve both got a lot of self control. All the same, there were times when we’d be right beside each other, or even shoved up against each other, and we couldn’t do anything about it because there were thirty other guys there with us. But when we were touching like that, or even not quite touching, I felt like my skin was on fucking fire.”

 _“Yesss,”_ Catalina said happily. “That’s what I mean by details.”

“It happened when we were on an aircraft carrier,” Justin said. “We were being transported somewhere, and we fucking finally had some downtime. The rest of the guys all collapsed. Literally, half of them were sleeping in a pile on the deck. Everyone was exhausted. I was too. But Shane and I looked at each other, and we thought—”

“Now or never,” Shane said.

“This is our chance,” Justin went on. “We ducked out of sight, and then we went into this storage closet right off the engine room. I could feel the vibration in my bones. It was loud, too. No one would be able to hear any sounds we made. We wouldn’t even be able to hear ourselves.”

Shane remembered it like it had been yesterday. “It was incredibly hot. The walls— you could burn yourself on parts of them. We were dripping with sweat before we even shut the door.”

“There wasn’t a latch,” Justin said. “I put my back against the door. Shane started kissing me. Neither of us had shaved in a couple days— we’d been in the field. I’d never kissed a man before. His chin was rough, but then he put his hands under my shirt, and the pads of his fingers were so soft, it was shocking.”

Shane watched Catalina’s face as Justin spoke. Her lips parted, and he could see her quickened breath as she imagined them together. Seeing how turned on she was made the memory even hotter. It was as if she was watching them have sex, right now. The thought of that made him dizzy with desire, for her, for Justin, to see and be seen…

“You’ve probably noticed, Shane likes it rough,” Justin went on. “I shoved him down on his knees. He let me, but he pulled me down with him. Then we were both kneeling against the door, so no one could open it. It was so hot, sweat was dripping down his face. The room smelled like engine oil and steel, but I could smell him too. We yanked each other’s pants down. I was so hard, I felt like I was going to explode. Shane put his hand around my cock, and I thought I was going to come that second. I actually had to bite my tongue not to.”

“Wow,” Catalina breathed. “Yeah, Shane’s like that. The first time he touched me, I went off like a rocket.”

“But I was totally cool,” Shane put in. “Perfect control.” 

“Uh-huh,” Justin said. He edged backward and clamped his thighs around Shane’s hard-on. Shane gasped at the unexpected shock of sensation. “What he means to say is that I grabbed him back, and he came all over my hand.”

“Your hand was hot and slick with sweat,” Shane said. “I wasn’t expecting it. I practically saw stars.”

“And then I figured there was no point holding back,” Justin went on. He moved deliberately, rolling his thighs around Shane’s cock. Shane’s breath went out of him like he’d been punched in the solar plexus. 

“Jesus, Red,” Shane managed. 

“He gave me a few more strokes, and I came too. The whole thing lasted about three minutes. Three very memorable…” Justin moved again. “Intense…” He pushed down, making Shane gasp again. “Awesome minutes. And that was the start of a beautiful friendship. With benefits.”

“Show me,” Catalina breathed. “God, I am soaking wet just listening. And I know what you’re doing. You’ve knocked the stealth right out of Shane. Plus, I can feel it. I want to see, too.”

“Sit up,” Shane suggested. “Get a better view.”

“Can I see you two naked together?” she asked hopefully. “I bet you’re awfully pretty.”

“That’s the first time anyone’s ever called me pretty,” Shane said, but he was already pulling off his jeans. He’d do anything to please Catalina. And he knew what she meant. He too had been imagining Justin’s bright copper against Catalina’s black silk, his pale skin against her creamy brown, his male angles against her female curves. But if she just wanted to watch, he’d give her a show.

Shane stripped off his boxers. His cock rose against his belly, swollen and throbbing with blood. He let Catalina get a good look at him before he did anything else. She always did enjoy seeing the untouched canvas of his skin before she put her own marks on him.

As if she’d been reading his mind, she said, “Don’t bruise him, Justin. I like to keep that just for me.”

“Sure,” he said easily. “I don’t think I’m up to anything rough anyway. Any other ground rules?”

She shook her head. “Just that. Go on.”

Shane unbuttoned Justin’s shirt, moving slowly, teasingly. He brushed his fingertips across Justin’s nipples, feeling them harden under his touch. Justin sucked in a breath. He was sensitive there. Shane traced his fingers around them in circles, spiraling out, enjoying how Justin’s breathing went ragged at his touch. 

There were other scars on Justin’s body, but Shane knew the stories behind each one, whether they were more sensitive or less, whether Justin did or didn’t like them to be touched. There was a bit of embedded shrapnel in his shoulder that Shane knew to avoid, not because it was traumatizing but simply because a careless touch was painful, and not in a good way. But he stopped when he came to the bullet wound below his heart. 

“Should I stay away from that?” Shane asked.

“I don’t know,” Justin said. “No one’s touched it yet. I haven’t had sex since we were taken.” He shook his head like he’d just realized it. “Fuck. That’s been three years.”

“I didn’t either,” Shane said. “Catalina was my first.”

Justin turned to Catalina. “Would you? Shane was there when it happened— he slammed his hand down on it. He was saving my life. But it hurt. I think it might be easier if you were the first. If you don’t mind.”

“Oh, I don’t mind at all.” Her voice had deepened into a purr; Shane could hear the leopard in her. “Just tell me if you want me to stop.”

Shane expected her to caress the scar. Instead, she bent her head, letting her hair fall against Justin’s chest, and began to kiss and lick it. Her tongue looked very pink against his pale skin. Justin stiffened at her first touch, then relaxed. Then he relaxed more. The bulge in his too-big pajama bottoms got even bigger.

“Yeah,” Justin muttered. “That’s good. Don’t stop.”

Shane returned to stroking Justin’s chest. He had little chest hair beyond a copper treasure trail, but Shane traced that downward. Catalina’s fingers joined his, tracing a line down Justin’s belly. When they reached the waistband of his pajamas, they pulled them down together. 

Now Justin and Shane lay naked together. Catalina was still fully clothed. She pulled back to watch them, open and unashamed enjoyment written all over her face. 

“You two _are_ pretty,” she purred. “Bright and dark. New penny, old iron. I can’t decide if I want to watch or get in on the action. I mean get in more.” 

Justin grinned up at her. His eyes were dark but the light in them was bright, and it wasn’t only from the reflection of the flames. “I know exactly how you feel. So you like to bruise up Shane, huh? We’ve knocked each other around a lot, but I don’t think that’s what you meant. I’d like to see that.”

“We have all night,” Shane pointed out. “We can do both. You’re the guest, Red. You pick. What do you want, right now?”

Justin considered it. He was breathing hard and sweating lightly, and his eyes were very bright. “I want to see what she does to you. Mark him up for me, Catalina.”

“My pleasure.” Her voice dropped even lower, husky and rough with desire.

The heat in her tone made Shane’s heart race. She might do _anything._ She’d mark him, and Justin would watch. He couldn’t think of anything he wanted more— he couldn’t think of anything he’d wanted more, ever. It was like that first time in the closet off the engine room, a moment he’d been anticipating without even knowing it, inevitable and irresistible. 

“Justin, you just lie back and watch.” She stood up, a simple movement filled with astonishing, heart-aching grace. “Shane, take off my clothes.”

Still kneeling, he reached up to unzip her blouse, then unsnap her bra. He folded them neatly before setting them aside, just to prolong the moment. Her breasts were as beautiful as ever, brown globes with darker nipples, already stiffened and hard. Her whole body was like the driftglass that washed up on the shores in Maine, smoothed into sculptural curves. 

Shane pulled off her jeans, then rolled off her panties. They were damp, and her womanly scent rose off them. He folded the jeans and set them atop her other clothes, but handed the panties to Justin. His friend’s fist clenched around them as he raised them to his face, inhaling her scent. His eyes nearly rolled back in his head as it washed over him. Shane knew exactly how he felt.

“God,” Justin muttered. “Nobody touch me, or this’ll be over in thirty seconds.”

“Three seconds,” Catalina teased. “You’re off by a factor of ten. Keep watching.”

Shane grasped her thighs, her flesh soft under her hands, and bent his head. She was soaking wet, and her scent made him feel like he might come without being touched, too. He pushed her folds apart and tasted her. Some women were sweet and Justin’s come was salty, but Catalina was tangy, like fruit just on the edge of ripeness. 

She shuddered and gasped at his touch, the button of her clitoris swelling under his tongue. As he licked at her, teasing at her slick folds, she deliberately pressed her thumbs into his collarbones, slowly but hard. It hurt, but in a good way, an exciting way. He could feel that she was bruising him in a pattern, but he couldn’t tell what it was. He could feel, too, how hard it was for her to maintain the control necessary to not just grab at him and leave random marks. He decided to challenge her a little, flicking his tongue over her clit. She gasped, but held steady.

“Oh, my God,” Justin said. “I see what you’re doing.”

Shane wished he could see. But he could feel it. There was no longer any pain, or else he couldn’t tell the difference. Only pressure, deliberate and careful, one fingertip at a time. His mate was marking him, and Justin was watching her do it. Shane could hear in his voice how much that was turning him on. 

She pressed one final mark into his chest, then dropped her arms. Shane glanced up, and saw that she was clenching her fists, trying not to spoil her pattern by grabbing his shoulders. Justin sat up, his face and chest flushed, his erection huge. 

“Here,” Justin said. “I’ve got you.”

He caught and clasped her hands. Catalina hung on to Justin as Shane licked harder at her clit, rubbing it with his tongue until she cried out, and he felt her walls pulse in orgasm against his lips. He loved actually being able to feel her come. 

When the flutters of the aftermath finally stopped, he licked his lips and sat back. He deliberately didn’t look down at himself— he wanted to give his shifter healing a little time to make the bruises show up— but instead looked at Catalina and Justin. She had the “cat that just finished a dish of cream and is hoping for more” expression that he knew so well. Justin too looked both pleased and hungry for more.

Catalina gave Shane a shove backward. It wasn’t hard, but he knew what she wanted— what he wanted— and let himself fall into Justin’s waiting arms. 

Catalina knelt down beside them. “Mind if I watch _and_ join in?”

“Absolutely.” Shane couldn’t think of anything he wanted more.

“Any conditions?” Catalina asked.

Shane did his best to think about it, though his impulse was to say, _“No, just get on with it before I lose my mind.”_ Then he thought of something. To Justin, he said, “No biting her on the neck or shoulders. I want that just for me.”

“Gotcha,” Justin said. “As for me, I got no conditions. You two do whatever you want to me.”

“Maybe later I’ll think of something special,” Catalina said, and the purr was back in her voice. “But I think right now, I just want to see what the engine room was like.”

She wrapped her chubby fist around Justin’s erection. He groaned, his chest heaving under Shane’s body as she began to slowly work her way up and down. Fumbling a little, Justin caught Shane’s own hard-on in a familiar tight grip. 

Shane wanted to savor the moment, to watch Catalina as she kissed Justin and ran her brown fingers through his bright hair, to feel Justin’s response to his touch. But his own sensations were too overwhelming. Justin’s strong fingers around his cock set him on fire. He could still taste Catalina’s tangy juices in his mouth. He was shaking with the intensity of his own response to them both, to them both together, to Justin’s tight grip and Catalina’s soft breasts against his back and—

“Oh, God!” His orgasm caught him by surprise. It was so quick, it shouldn’t have been so intense, but it took him as hard as anything ever had. His come splashed across Justin’s belly and Catalina’s hand.

A moment later, Justin’s familiar sharp exhale sounded, and his own hot jet spurted over Catalina’s hand and Shane’s thigh. As Shane caught his breath, relaxing into the afterglow, Catalina’s strong arms wrapped around them both. The three of them clung to each other. Shane couldn’t tell whose hands were where. All he knew was that they were all together, holding each other, exactly where they belonged.

They sat silently together for a while, and then Justin got up. It obviously still hurt him to walk, but he went down the hall, then returned with a pair of warm washcloths. He took care of Catalina first, then wiped the come and sweat from Shane’s body, before finally cleaning himself. 

“Cats,” Catalina remarked. “I’m surrounded by cats.”

Justin smiled, understanding without having to ask. “Shane’s the neat freak, not me. I’m just being nice.”

Catalina leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Yes, you are.”

Before Shane surrendered to the pleasant post-sex doziness, he looked down at himself. With his accelerated shifter healing, the bruises of Catalina’s fingers had already turned black. She’d placed her fingerprints so closely together that they looked like a necklace of black pearls, encircling Shane’s throat and dangling down in symmetrical strands and loops across his chest. It was beautiful, like some ritual necklace a king might wear for a ceremony.

“I like it,” Shane said. 

“Yeah.” Justin’s gaze was appreciative. “Bruises look good on you.” 

Catalina sniffed the air. “Is something burning?”

Then she leaped up. “Shit, the broth!”

She darted into the kitchen. A moment later she came back. “Sorry. Guess we’re not having any soup.”

Justin laughed. “I don’t need it. I’m all warmed up.”

Shane tugged him and Catalina down. She pulled the blanket up over them. There was a brief scrabble as they all sought a comfortable position, then they settled down. Catalina lay on Justin’s left side, with her head on his shoulder and her arm stretched across his chest to wrap around Shane as well. Shane did the same, but with his head on the pillow and his face turned into Justin’s throat, his lips pressed against that delicate, vulnerable skin. Justin clasped Catalina’s hand in one of his, and rested his other palm around Shane’s head, idly stroking his hair. 

“I’m not scared,” Justin murmured, as if surprised at the realization. “If I wake up, you’ll be right here with me.”

“Of course we will,” Catalina said softly. “Shane has nightmares too. He knows what it feels like, and I’m used to talking him down.”

Shane was half-asleep already, but he raised himself enough to plant a clumsy kiss on Catalina’s cheek and Justin’s shoulder. “Try to sleep, Red. It’ll be all right. Wherever you go, we’ll be here when you come back.”

“Okay,” Justin whispered. “I know you won’t leave me. Either of you. That’s all I need.”

Shane didn’t know if it was his thought or his panther’s that whispered, in perfect contentment, _That’s what pack is for_. He drifted into sleep.

He awoke to pale morning sunlight and only Catalina in his arms. For an instant, his heart skipped a beat. Had Justin run off again, back into the snow and without even saying goodbye?

Then Justin stepped out of the kitchen. He was in Shane’s pajamas, his copper hair standing up in untidy tufts, and the color was back in his cheeks. He was limping a little, but he walked up and prodded Shane with his toe.

“Shake Catalina,” Justin said. “The crepes will get cold.”

But to Shane’s surprise, just hearing Justin’s voice woke her. Normally he had to drag her out of bed; she was the opposite of a morning person. 

She sat up, rubbing her eyes. “We have _crepes?_ Did you borrow our car?”

Justin’s eyes crinkled in a _no, you idiot_ look that Shane was all too familiar with. “I made them. You have a full pantry, you know. Get up and have breakfast.”

The scent of coffee, pancakes, butter, and citrus drifted in from the kitchen. Shane hauled Catalina up and into the kitchen. The small table was already set with three place settings, coffee mugs, and a platter of rolled-up crepes with butter melting around them, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

“Wow.” Catalina dropped down into a chair, scooped a crepe on to her plate, and cut into it. Hot marmalade oozed out. 

Shane stared at Justin, then slid a crepe on to his own plate. His appeared to be filled with blueberry jam.

“Lots of jam in the cupboard,” Justin said. “They’re mystery crepes. Five different fillings. Anything you don’t like, give it to me and take a different one.”

Shane bit into his crepe. The jam was sweet but not cloying, the crepe delicate and soft with crisped edges. And the coffee was real, fresh coffee, not instant or with the burned flavor it got when it had been sitting around all day. 

“Good thing you were around,” Shane said to Catalina. “He never did this for me. All I ever got out of him the next morning was a cup of bad coffee and maybe a warmed-up MRE.”

“Because we only had mornings on Air Force bases and aircraft carriers and in the field, you idiot,” Justin said. “If you’d ever bothered to drop by my house and not disappear in the middle of the night like a stray cat, you’d have gotten the full treatment.”

“I bet if you’re in combat, a warmed-up MRE is very romantic,” Catalina said, with her mouth full. “Shane made me MREs when we were trapped at Apex together. And look where it got him.”

“’S true,” Shane said, then swallowed. The crepes were so good, it was hard to stop eating, even for a single sentence. The next one was filled with raspberry jam. “Justin sacrificed fifteen minutes of his sleep so I could wake up and eat something that was already hot and ready. When you’re operating on two hours of sleep per night, that’s huge.”

“And what did you do for him?” Catalina asked.

“I bought him a bouquet of red roses,” Shane said, deadpan. As Catalina and Justin laughed, Shane said, “I’m terrible at romance. If you want red roses, you’ll have to tell me, because it’s not the sort of thing I’d think of on my own. And if you want crepes—”

“You come to me,” Justin said. He rested his hand on Shane’s shoulder. “But if you want someone who’ll watch your back and save your life— and your sanity— and take care of you when you need it, and never ask for anything in return, you go to Shane.”

Shane hastily lifted his coffee mug to his lips, lowering his eyes to hide any visible signs of the stinging he felt in them. When he was sure his voice would be steady, he said, “And if you want someone who’ll stand by you and do right for you and give you anything you ask for, no matter how dangerous or annoying or weird it is, you go to Catalina.”

“Yeah. You two have a good thing going.” Justin’s gaze drifted out the window, toward the glittering white and the trees beyond. He leaned forward, as if he was thinking about getting up to go. “Snow’s stopped.” 

Shane had to physically stop himself from grabbing Justin and sitting him back down. “We rented the cabin for a week. And we’ve only been here for two days.”

“Shane and I live together,” Catalina chimed in. “We have plenty of private time. What we don’t normally get is Justin time.” 

Justin glanced from her to Shane, but the doubt had finally gone from his dark eyes. His left hand was still warm on Shane’s shoulder, but he laid his other hand over Catalina’s as he re-settled into his seat. “Well, it’s not like I have a job I’m supposed to get back to.”

“Yes, you do.” Catalina squeezed his hand, then indicated the empty platter. “We’re out of crepes.”

**Author's Note:**

> I need not to need  
> Or else a love with intuition  
> Someone who reaches out to my weakness  
> And won't let go  
> I need not to need  
> I've always been the tower  
> But now I feel like I'm the flower trying to bloom in snow
> 
> \- "The Tower," Vienna Teng


End file.
